Anchors Aweigh to Emperor Island (Beta-Read by Lake Blue1)
by brookewyrm-the-strangeling
Summary: When EPF finds an undiscovered island near CP, the Director puts together a unique team of agents consisting of puffle-lover Ezila101, self-proclaimed iceberg tipper Liamkay9, and moody novelist Ceriseineast. However, when the trio discovers that Emperor Island may not be all that it's cracked up to be, it looks like they may need to consult Liam's cousin Dot for this mission.


**Chapter Description: Here we see a glimpse at Ceriseineast, and her tendency to talk to herself. Over time she's grown a bit bitter due to the other agents distancing themselves from her after her 11 missions as a "newb" as she puts it, though claims to be pessimistic because of "not getting called into work often enough". Due to the number of times she's said this she's basically started to believe it, and now tries to put "success" above anything else.**

* * *

_Na na na na na na_

_Na na na na na na_

_When we're all together_

_Best day ever!_

A red penguin hummed along to the music blasting from the speakers that stood on either side of the door that lead out to her backyard. She was currently sitting in a green scoop chair, hunched over a sleek silver laptop that sat on a brown wooden end table. The glow from the screen shone on her face, revealing her wide, sleep-deprived eyes. Her luscious brown hair fell down to her chest in thick curls, in a style that was considered quite popular in Club Penguin at the moment, but the hair curl sticking out from one side didn't make her look nearly as glamorous.

This penguin was Ceriseineast, aka just "Cerise"- a novelist, black belt in Card Jitsu, and self-proclaimed number one Space Squids fan (though it was clear she was just rooting for the team for their uniqueness- she wasn't all that into soccer to be honest).

Suddenly, a stray notebook beside the laptop buzzed. She frowned, and picked up the notebook only to notice the slim black phone underneath. Scowling, Cerise proceeded to save her document and then shut down her laptop before picking up the phone and turning it on.

Did I forget to mention she was also an EPF agent?

'**DIRECTOR: All agents, please report to the EPF Command Room immediately.**'

Cerise groaned internally. Most of the time when she got called to HQ she didn't even get to do anything. Sometimes Gary would show her some of his new inventions, but it wasn't like he didn't already show it off to the others. Last month Jet Pack Guy wanted her to get some new fuel for his jet pack. And the others? Well, they didn't really talk with her at all, except for Rookie.

What happened? She wondered. When she started out she got called in for missions nearly every day- and just her, not some other guy barging in on her strategy (though it wouldn't be half bad if that happened). Jet seemed to actually almost like her, Gary trusted her with almost anything, and Rookie actually thought she was... experienced and cool. In fact, he probably still did.

The red penguin smiled to herself. Rookie was probably her only friend among the agents- well, they actually weren't that close, but they had gone to get a pizza together a short while ago. He was sweet and totally outgoing, just a bit awkward and accident-prone. He also totally idolized Jet, which could get a bit annoying at first, though even Cerise had to admit she admired him- from a distance.

"Well, if Rookie's going to be there, it can't be all that bad," Cerise muttered. The green penguin managed to make almost anything fun- yes, Cerise did enjoy being an agent more than anything, but the meetings are pretty boring when you basically act as white noise nowadays.

Rookie wasn't her only friend, however- but he was her only friend in the agency. Oh, how she longed to tell Ezila about the missions she had been sent on as a newbie herself- getting stranded in the forest that one time sure was interesting, yet she couldn't stop wondering about that black puffle that disappeared after she fell asleep in the cave. And she knew Ezila would think it was cool too- maybe she could even join, and they could partner up and maybe go on a mission or two.

Cerise snorted as she waddled over to her closet. Unlikely. One of the many rules about EPF: don't talk about EPF. If she even dared to flash her EPF Spy Phone at her friend, she'd have her memory wiped and her feathery behind booted out of HQ faster than you could say "Pizzatron 3000". It's not that they'd be eager to get rid of her- she had helped out quite a bit at first. But, agents were serious about secrets- they had to be, or the whole organization could be jeopardized.

Deciding to focus on the matter at hand, she flipped through the contents of her wardrobe. Dressing for a meeting was serious business- you didn't just show up as you were, unless you already looked like you popped out of a Penguin in Black movie.

The only exceptions for this unspoken rule were the leads- the main guys/gals, the hot shots. Jet Pack Guy, Dot, Gary, those guys- and Rookie. All the other agents knew that if they showed up in "hipster threads" or a prom dress they'd get The Look- the look you get from one of the leads when they're thinking, _why did we hire this guy if they're not going to make an effort?_ Usually newbs were spared from The Look, though if you had been an agent for over a year then it's time to ditch the wrinkled trousers and insanely neon graphic tees, and start looking for something more presentable. The last thing you need during battle is Herbert pausing between his evil monologue to comment on the fairy wings on your back, or the fact that you have a Jack-O-Lantern on your head.

Studying her current outfit in a mirror on the wall to her right, she sighed. Today had pretty much been a lazy day up until now- she had gotten up, fed her puffles, ate some pizza with a little too much hot sauce on it (like always), then changed out of her pajamas and into a baggy UK hoodie over a red guitar shirt. And ever since then she had been typing away, writing down plot bunnies ever hour or so while simultaneously playing mahjong. Hipster glasses sat upon her beak, and she had pulled on some uber-comfy grey loafers.

Cerise scowled again as she realized she really had no options, before sighing and pulling out a wrinkly white "suit", or at least the closest thing to a suit that she'd ever wear. In a matter of minutes she was dressed in a white blouse with the sleeves rolled up and white trousers held up with a dark brown belt. The collar was nearly making her suffocate, so she quickly undid the top two buttons to reveal the teal shirt underneath. She grabbed her camera and newsroom hat, to at least add a bit of professionalism to the look.

Grimacing as she waddled over to her wooden end table in her black dress shoes, she picked up her phone, patted the hair curl back into place and pressed the TELEPORT button.

"Well, it's no wonder they don't take me seriously anymore," Cerise muttered as her flippers fumbled, nearly dropping the phone. "I'm a has-been, and I sure dress like one. Anybody could have done what I did." Usually people called the red penguin "modest" when they heard her saying stuff like that... But nobody got it. Nobody ever understood, not even Rookie, and he nearly had the same situation as her. She had been amazing at first- nearly a lead, though that was a pretty bold statement,- but they never even talked to her anymore.

Cerise had a feeling she was being selfish, or maybe that this wasn't the true cause of her anger lately, but it felt pretty good to vent. Sometimes it felt like she wasn't angry because she wasn't being called into EPF as often... sometimes it crossed her mind that maybe she was upset that she had lost her friends.

Cerise laughed to herself. Oh, that was a good one. But she was, as her mind sometimes failed to remember, in this world to succeed- not to make friends. Love wasn't part of the plan, and it sure as heck isn't now. _Don't do love, don't do friends, I'm only after success._ Her mantra rang inside her head, and she felt pretty confident until she remembered one little thing- Rookie and Ezila were her friends, weren't they?

Now feeling rather conflicted with herself, she sighed. Rookie was... an interesting case. He brightened up her day when nobody else could- some said that the two had crushes on each other, but that was ridiculous. Besides, Ezila was totally into the guy, even if she didn't know his secret.

Ezila.

Oh, Cerise definitely knew she couldn't ditch her. The two had been friends ever since Cerise moved into the igloo beside her. And after she moved away, they continued to be friends. That was what, three years ago? Time sure had flown by since then.

_As long as they don't get in the way,_ Cerise thought. Maybe it's okay to have a few friends. Like, two. Maximum.

She smiled to herself, since this overextended conversation had been rather thought-provoking. It was amazing the things you learn from yourself.

Before she left she quickly scribbled down a note for Ari, Skyler, Eugene, and Callie, her puffles who were currently playing outside- Cerise was perfectly fine with them being out in the backyard without supervision, since they knew not to run away. Some called her careless for doing this, which Cerise admitted hurt a bit- she wasn't exactly a puffle person like Ezila, maybe she _was_ doing something wrong.

Ari and Skyler, red and blue respectively, were her very first puffles, and the oldest out of the bunch. A brown puffle called Eugene was her third, and she had just adopted Callie, a Tabby Cat puffle, a week ago- she found the Border Collie puffles to be too rambunctious, to be honest.

_Hey guys! I hope you had fun out there, _Cerise wrote. _I'm getting called into an EPF meeting, I'll be back in an hour tops. _She paused, before continuing. _If Ezila swings by, just try and make sure she doesn't think I'm dead or kidnapped or anything. Love you lots! :)_

Satisfied, she folded the note before setting it down on the table. She then tapped her EPF phone a few more times, before disappearing in a blue flash of pixels.

**Thank you for reading! As for reviews, constructive critisicm is welcome, flames will be used to pop my popcorn that may or may consist of leftover kernels I snatched from the Popcorn Bomb. **

**And like the title says this was Beta-read by the fantastic Lake Blue1, who taught me how to use DocX. :) **

**This is the prologue, and the next chapter will (obviously) be about the meeting. And yes this is a self-insert of sorts. Liamkay9 and Ezila101 are not real penguin accounts, they are OCs and not associated with any penguins sharing those names, but I checked and nobody has them. Ezila101 is based off my friend, and Liamkay9 is based off a fandom-less OC of mine.  
**

**Ceriseineast is my account and you're welcome to add me, I usually hang out on the Icicle server. ;)**


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